In the operation of a multi-unit rotary offset printing press, freshly printed substrates such as sheets or web material are guided by transfer cylinders or the like from one printing unit to another, and then they are delivered to a sheet stacker or to a sheet folder/cutter unit, respectively. Transfer cylinders are known by various names including delivery cylinders, transfer rollers, support rollers, delivery wheels, skeleton wheels, segmented wheels, transfer drums, support drums, spider wheels, support wheels, guide wheels, guide rollers and the like. The ink marking problems inherent in transferring freshly printed substrates have been longstanding. In order to minimize the contact area between the transfer means and the freshly printed substrate, conventional support wheels have been modified in the form of relatively thin disks having a toothed or serrated circumference, referred to as skeleton wheels. However, those thin disc transfer means have not overcome the problems of smearing and marking the freshly printed substrate due to moving contact between the freshly printed substrate and the projections or serrations. Moreover, the attempts to minimize the surface support area in contact with the freshly printed substrate material has also resulted in actual indenting or dimpling of the substrate itself.